


Anything for You

by Ollie_James



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF, Real Person Fiction, Sebastian Stan - Fandom
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Long-Distance Friendship, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:25:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ollie_James/pseuds/Ollie_James
Summary: Scenes from a friendship - Aimée Kane attends a premiere and befriends a kind, funny actor who ends up taking a lot of room in her life.





	1. The Event

**Author's Note:**

> I have never, ever posted a story before so this is pretty daunting for me. I've written these people as I perceive they might be but clearly as one of them is a RL person, whom I do not know, this is all fiction and fun :)
> 
> I should say that I've have drafts of this for a long time, before a lot of songs, movies and TV shows referenced here came out. So those references may seem out of order or out of place but hopefully most of it still works.

The first impression Aimée has is that everything is very, very bright. She walks along the red carpet, looking wide-eyed at all the reporters and fans in the audience. She holds onto her date’s arm more tightly to avoid losing her in the throng of people walking about.

“You okay?” Andrea asks over her shoulder.

“Very okay,” Aimée answers with a wide smile. She can barely believe what’s happening; attending the premiere of a huge Hollywood movie and walking alongside amazing actors and crew members. Less than 48 hours before, she’d been at home in Ottawa packing her bags to jet set off for the event of a lifetime. Aimée’s friend Kat was dating one of the hair and makeup artist that worked on the biggest movie of the year, the new _Avengers_ feature film. Kat had been looking forward to attending with her woman for months and when work called her away to the opposite coast, she’d been devastated. But if she couldn’t go, Aimée was the perfect alternate.  

And so it was that Aimée stood amongst the rich and famous, taking in everything to commit it all to memory. She’d decided to wear a curve-hugging long black dress and Andrea did her hair and makeup. She feels pretty but there’s no comparing to the other women around like Scarlet Johansson and Elizabeth Olsen. Chris Hemsworth’s wife Elsa looks insanely graceful and beautiful. Aimée is a kind, social person with a friendly disposition, but she can’t help actively avoiding direct eye contact with the celebrities walking around.

“My feet are killing me,” Andrea complains.

“We can hang out here for a while,” offers Aimée.

Andrea stops and turns around, looking at her friend with a pained expression on her face. “Do you think anyone would notice if I took off this pair of torture devices?”

“Probably… But least you look fantastic!” Aimée says with a grin as Andrea gives her the stink eye.

“Suck an egg, Aimes.”

“I love you too, Andy,” Aimée says overly sweet.

“Distract me. Talk to me about anything. How was your week?”

“It was a pretty good. It’s National Environment week so I’ve been going out and picking up garbage at the park near work during lunch, so that was great.”

“Hm, you public servants lead a glamorous life,” Andrea says sarcastically.

“The real interesting thing is I got to meet an actual astronaut from the Canadian Space Agency. They had him over to do a presentation and he came suited up and everything. You may have heard of him, Jeremy Hansen?”

“I’m not into that stuff like you are, hon. No one is.”

“Anyway, he had some really interesting insight into space and how the environment factors into travelling there and vice versa. He seems to think people will be able to casually, or affordably, go into space in our lifetime.”

“He’s probably right,” comes a voice beside them. Neither of the women had noticed the man listening intently to their conversation. Aimée takes him in quickly; tall, dressed head to toe in black and stubble on his well-defined jaw. He has beautiful blue eyes and an interested smile. “I’m sorry-not-sorry to eavesdrop; I’ve met a couple astronauts before, it’s an awesome experience.”

“It was pretty amazing,” Aimée concedes. She’s surprised she can keep her voice level, knowing full well who she’s talking to. “He was so positive and so keen and well-spoken. He had an amazing vision of the future and it was kind of inspiring. I could have listened to him all day. He answered some questions afterwards too, which was nice.”

“At least one guy asked about aliens, right?”

“Oh yeah,” Aimée says chuckling.

“There’s always one,” the man chuckles.

“He said he hasn’t seen any evidence himself, clearly. Then again, when you look at all the _millions_ of galaxies in a tiny speck of space, odds are there’s intelligent life somewhere but they’re looking at us millions of years in the past.”

The man nods and smiles at her like he’s met a kindred spirit. He finally offers his hand. “I’m Sebastian.”

“Aimée.”

“Nice to meet you, Aimée. Where are you from?”

“Ottawa, Canada.”

“Really! And how’s life there?”

“It’s great. I love my country; amazing people, beautiful cities and green spaces from coast to coast. Have you ever been?”

“I’ve been around Toronto some.”

“Meh, Toronto is Canada’s dirty back alley,” Aimée says frowning exaggeratingly, making him laugh. Andrea clears her throat and the man looks at her with pleasant surprise. “Oh hi, Andy!” He gives her a quick hug and motions to her dress. “Looking good. Nice to see you.”

“If you say so,” she says in mock offense. “You nerds get lost in your space conversations and forget there are beautiful women around,” she says shaking her head.

“What can I say, every so often you come across a beautiful nerd talking about space stations and galaxies and you just can’t help being completely captivated,” he says grinning at Andrea and Aimée can feel her face burn like the surface of the sun.

“Hmph,” Andrea simply says pretending to be unimpressed but under the surface she’s thinking _damn son!_ A handler comes over to him and lets him know he should be proceeding down the carpet and taking pictures. He turns back to the two women and smiles apologetically. “Duty calls.” He looks straight at Aimée and offers his hand again. “It was really nice talking to you, Aimée.”

“Likewise, Sebastian,” she says shaking his hand. She keeps looking after him long after he’s gone and Andrea nudges her with her shoulder.

“ _Noice_.”

“Were there actual, coherent sentences coming out of my mouth?” Aimée asks, star struck. “Cause I can’t remember a word I said.”

“You were good, girl. _Real_ good.”

“I need a drink.”

“Amen.”

“I can’t wait for your wedding,” Aimée toasts Andrea.

“You think _you_ can’t wait?” Andrea says laughing.

“Well I’ve never been to a wedding.”

“Well I’ve never been _married_ before.”

“Okay, okay, maybe you’re more excited about it. But just a tiny bit.”

“Do you have a date yet?”

Aimée scoffs. “No, _mom_.”

“Aren’t you on Tinder or Bumble or something?”

“Meh. I tried it for a bit then it got pretty overwhelming. I swear men swipe right to every single picture to get as many matches as possible. I had to turn notifications off my phone; I was getting literally dozens and dozens of messages a day.”

“Oh no, you poor thing,” Andrea laughs into her glass of wine.

“Fuck off,” Aimée says laughing. Andrea’s phone pings multiple times and Andrea looks at it, frowning. “Your wifey?” Andrea nods sadly, finishing her glass. “We could send her a selfie?”

“Great idea,” Andrea says reaching for a passing tray of champagne and grabs her friend a full glass. She raises her phone and points it at the two of them. They touch their glasses and pucker their lips for the shot, as if to send her kisses. When Andrea looks at the picture to add a caption, she laughs loudly and turns the phone to show Aimée. Just behind them, making the same puckered face, is Sebastian photo-bombing them. Andrea sets up the picture while Aimée gives Sebastian a dirty look while trying to keep a straight face.

“I didn’t realize movie stars were so rude,” she says raising an eyebrow.

“Of course we are,” he says grabbing a passing drink. “We’re all entitled, self-absorbed brats. Didn’t you know?”

“Can’t say I’ve met that many so this is news to me,” Aimée says keeping eye contact as she sips her champagne.

“You seem to mind your manners well enough. What do you do for a living?”

“I work for the Department of Environment. I spend most of my time reading what citizens, company presidents, etc have to say to the Minister.”

The man makes face, as if impressed. “Wow, I guess you _would_ be a good person if you work for the environment.”

“Hm yes and no.”

“Do you pick up trash in your spare time?” he says teasing.

“… sometimes,” Aimée concedes and Sebastian chuckles.

“You’re probably much too nice for us to be friends.”

“Well I’m not nice all the time.” A grin draws itself on his face and Aimée blinks slowly, trying her hardest to keep a straight face when she realizes what she implied. “Besides, how is someone like you supposed to learn to do better if you don’t spend any time with folks that have a better disposition than yours?”

“You make a good point,” he says oh-so-seriously. He smiles again and Aimée feels her insides turn to mush.

“How did you like your movie?”

“Calling it _my_ movie might be an exaggeration; I’m in it all of 7 minutes,” he answers running a hand through his hair.

“7 solid, _impressive_ minutes,” Aimée swears with a fake serious face.

“Well I’m a solid, _impressive_ actor.”

“Yes, quite. Humble too, I see.”

“For a good person, you’re awfully sassy,” he remarks.

“The two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Andrea suddenly turns around and puts her phone down. “What are you two weirdoes going on about?”

Aimée and Sebastian smile at each other and shrug. “Sass,” Aimée says at the same time as Sebastian says “how solid and impressive I am”.

Andrea glances at Aimée then back at him. “Is that a euphemism or something?”

“Yes,” Aimée and Sebastian say at the same time.

“O-kay,” Andrea says getting up from her seat. “You two need to get a room. I’ma go powder my nose.” She leaves them alone as Aimée tries not to blush and fails miserably, earning her a very satisfied grin from the man beside her.

“You know, I always liked that woman,” Sebastian says taking her seat.

“Right, because she’s so full of good ideas,” Aimée says narrowing her eyes.

“The best ideas,” he agrees. “So what do you say?”

She nearly chokes on the last gulp of champagne. There’s no way Sebastian Stan is asking her to go to his room with him. She’s clearly misunderstanding. There’s a 0% chance she’s not completely misreading what he just said. “Real funny, Stan.”

“Why? You’re attractive, smart, polite,” he says smiling hotly. “And me, I’m just a brat who wants to get weird with you.”

“Even if I believed what the words coming out of your mouth seem to be saying,” she said motioning to his face with a circular motion of her hand, “and God knows I could definitely climb all this,” she said motioning to his body with her hand, “but I’m not in the habit of doing this kind of thing.”

“Attractive men, you mean?” he teases.

“Yes, the more ape-like the better.”

“You're funny, you know that?”

“I do know that.”

The man seems to be assessing her and Aimée tries to pretend like she doesn’t feel like the world’s biggest fool. To her surprise, he doesn’t immediately walk away. “So what kind of environmental concerns does the typical citizen have?”

“Lots of thoughts about caribou.”

“Really?” he says raising his eyebrows. He seems to be joking but Aimée senses he’s genuinely curious.

“Yeah, their numbers are dwindling, especially on the West coast. Indigenous people are having an especially rough time with it.”

“I can imagine. It’s a source of hunting and food for them, right?”

“Exactly. We had a protester show up at our building with tombstones for all the provinces the Caribou inhabit. It was pretty vivid.”

“Wow. What else?”

“Well, the pipeline, as always, is a real point of contention.”

“I still don’t understand how government can agree to that.”

“It’s the same motivator as always, money. Anyway, people are _piiissed_.”

“They should be; pipelines are extremely damaging to the environment and very disruptive to everything and everyone around them.”

“Yep,” Aimée nods. “Anyway, Indigenous interests are top priority for us. The Minister loves it when kids write too and always makes time for them.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s really cute,” she says putting a hand over her heart. “Little humans with thoughts and opinions on the future of the world… A lot of them are actually insightful.”

“Seems like you like it when they write too,” Seb says with a smile. “Do you have kids?”

“I have three nephews. I think the world of them and they're enough for me. How about you, you want kids?”

“Yeah, that’s definitely a goal for some day,” he says running his hand through his hair instinctively. “First the career, then the wife, then the kiddies.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I should get me some of that; the career, the wife, a couple puppies.”

“Pretty sure public service _is_ a career but yeah, get yourself a wife, preferably one that makes great sandwiches and won’t put up with your shit.”

“Is that what you look for in a woman?”

“Among other things.”

“What else? Gotta be blonde, eh?”

He smiles, narrowing his eyes a bit. “I’m not going to ask where that assumption comes from. I love _all_ women. I look for someone funny, confident, independent, wise beyond her years, can tell if an avocado is ripe by looking at it, thighs that can bust open watermel-”

“Okay now you’re just messing with me,” Aimée says rolling her eyes. “Although since I’ve been working out, I do find the idea of being strong as hell really hot. Feel this,” she says flexing her arm. Sebastian reaches out to feel her defined muscle. “And that’s not even my sandwich-making arm.”

“Very impressive,” he says nodding.

“ _Seeeeb!_ ” A group (horde) of industry people, Aimée assumes, comes barreling towards them. He hugs and kisses all of them and just looks all-around excited to see them. They give each other accolades on the movie and laugh at inside jokes while Aimée sits there feeling out of place. They crowd around them and Aimée uses the opportunity to slink out of her seat and make as if to leave. Sebastian calls out after but she waves a hand to say he should enjoy his time with his peers.

She walks around for a bit and eventually finds Andrea, sticking to her side for the rest of the night. After a couple more hours, Andrea is ready to amputate her feet from the pain of her shoes and definitely ready to go. They wait outside for their car, Andrea leaning on Aimée to shift her weight to one foot.

“I wouldn’t trust her to hold you up,” comes Sebastian’s voice behind them. “She’s had a lot of champagne and her muscles are soft as baby shit.” Aimée gives him a dirty look, trying her best not to smile.

“First of all, how dare you,” she spits at him, barely containing her grin. “And second, _how dare you?_ ”

“You left me, Ames. Ain’t no forgiving that.”

“I couldn’t see you over the wall of ass-kissing around you,” she defends herself. “And I had no desire to kiss nor any ass to desire.” They stare at each other, confused, going over the last sentence in their heads. “Shut up.”

“Are you in town for long?” he asks.

“Heading out tomorrow.”

“Shame. You should give me your number so I can send you interesting articles on caribou and plastic waste.”

“Like I don’t read enough of that every day,” she answers, nonetheless giving him the number.

He drafts a text message on his phone, presses a couple buttons, types something more then slips the phone into his pocket. The ladies’ car pulls up and he gives Andrea a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Ames,” he says nodding politely with a serious face.

“ _Seb_ ,” Aimée responds mock standoffish. He sets a hand on her arm, leaning over to kiss her cheek. He pulls away and she stops him. “Hey, where I come from, we do both cheeks.” He smirks and plants a kiss on her other cheek. “Be good!” she calls out as he walks away.

“Never!” he says over his shoulder.

The women settle into the backseat of the car and the driver pulls out of the driveway to take them back to their hotel. Andrea lays her head on Aimée’s shoulder. “He likes you.”

“Nah,” Aimée brushes it off. Andrea closes her eyes and Aimée reaches for the phone in her clutch. She opens the text message from the unknown number and smiles; the picture is a close-up of her butt with the caption _Definitely an ass to be desired_. She googles a picture of him looking especially dorky and sends it back with the caption _Oh look, another ass!_  


	2. The morning After

Aimée sits at her gate as she waits for her flight to start boarding passengers, sipping an Americano and reading the news on her phone. She comes across a captivating article on a study that found astronauts’ movement increased the subsurface temperatures on the moon in the 70s. She thinks of Sebastian; would he find that interesting? Maybe she shouldn’t, maybe he was just making polite conversation the night before. She mulls it over a minute or two and then figures, _to hell with it_. She copy-pastes the link and sends the text. She goes back to the news, reading up on the latest NHL playoff games when the popup of a new text message displays on screen.

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _It’ll be interesting to see if the effect is the same when we get to walk on Mars._

 ** _Stan the Man_  ** _What are you up to? Waiting at the airport?_

 **_Aimée_** _Yep, nearing hour 2_

 ** _Stan the Man_ ** _Lame_

 **_Aimée_ ** _It is but worth it to have gotten to attend the thing last night_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _I HAVE heard that meeting me is an experience one never forgets_

 **_Aimée_ ** _From your mom?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _She says I’m handsome too. Moms can’t lie, right?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _My mom’s pet name for me is “weirdo” so I’m not the best reference for nice moms_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _She sounds fun_

 **_Aimée_ ** _She’s 100x cooler than I am. She’s a roadie who drives around with bands and artists._

 **_Aimée_** _Also, she hooks up with rock stars._

 ** _Stan the Man_** _I’m guessing she doesn’t look like the typical trucker?_

 **_Aimée_** _She’s got long black hair, long black nails and big boobs. Attitude and sass to boot too._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _So nothing like you._

 **_Aimée_ ** _What’s your mom’s number? I’m gonna tell her what a little shit you’re being to a very nice, pleasant girl._

 ** _Stan the Man_** _I’ll give you mine if you give me yours ;-)_

 **_Aimée_  ** _HA! Well-played but no_

 **_Stan the Man_** _Come on, be a pal!_

 **_Aimée_** _Never!_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _On a completely unrelated topic, what is your last name?_

 **_Aimée_** _Are you going to Facebook creep my mom, you perv?_

 ** _Stan the Man_** _I’m not_ not _going to._

 **_Aimée_** _Wow dude, you’re the worst_

 **_Stan the Man_** _That’s dad to you, young lady_

 **_Aimée_** _Bouahaha_

 **_Aimée_** _They just called my flight! Ttyl!_ ****

**_Stan the Man_** _Have a good one! Be safe_ _:)  
_

**_Stan the Man_** _And if you get caught joining the mile high club, just say you have anxiety and he’s your emotional support fuckboy!_

Aimée smiles to herself as gets in line to board the plane. _This guy….  
_


	3. Snippets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Random convos that take place months after they meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning that there is a suicide joke in the first part.

**_Aimée_ ** _So what percent of women in show business are completely hairless?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I know you’ve got the odd Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson who’ve made it clear they’re all natural but I figure it’s still probably close to 97%, right?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _This is the weirdest, rudest wakeup call I’ve ever gotten._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _That I didn’t ask for, by the way_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Bish please, it’s 9:30_

 **_Aimée_ ** _And you should be flattered that I’m asking for your expert opinion._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Are you high right now?_

 ** _Aimée_** _I mean, I’ve had a triple mocha and a couple Americanos so I guess I am *a little*_ _wired._

 **_Aimée_ ** _Also, about an ounce of crack._

 **_Aimée_ ** _Joking!  
_

**_Aimée_ ** _I can’t afford crack on a government salary :-/  
_

**_Stan the Man_ ** _It’s 6:30 on the west coast WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _And 90% is probably more realistic but yes, everyone is hairless here; men, women, cats..._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Why are you so hopped up on caffeine?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I’m getting my own landscaping done. Trial by waxing for the first time ever._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _“Landscaping” LOL Sounds like you're getting a team of horticulturists to handle your perennial situation haha  
_

**_Aimée_ ** _I’m doing this for a very important date tomorrow so you can shove those plant jokes where the sun don’t shine, Stan._

 **_Aimée_ ** _This is terrifying._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _This guy must be something special._

 **_Aimée_ ** _Meh, his personality is kind of… how should I put it? He’s like the plain yogurt of the dessert aisle. His body though, BANGIN’._

 **_Aimée_ ** _I’ve been chipping away at his standards since he started working in the office 5 months ago._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Pfft how bangin’ we talking?_

**_Aimée has sent a file. Click here to download. _ **

**_Stan the Man_ ** _He’s a’ight_

 **_Aimée_ ** _What?! That’s it? I wouldn’t be going through this nightmare for someone just a’ight._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Did you creep his FB page to get that pic?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _What kind of perv do you take me for?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I used Instagram._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _I need coffee to deal with all this._

 **_Aimée_ ** _Wait I need moral support!_

 **_Stan the Man_** _Put on y_ _our big girl panties then take them off, grit your teeth and get the job done._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _You’re not a quitter, are you?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Fuck no_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _There you go. You can do this. Look at that picture of that totally average looking man and psych yourself up. You got this!_

_**Aimée** You are surprisingly good at this, a real bro. _

**_Stan the Man_ ** _I just want this conversation to end. The other option is hanging myself in the closet._

 **_Aimée_ ** _Nah I think you like being a good bro._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Currently looking for a belt_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Okay okay. Thanks for the pep talk! And sorry I woke you._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Let me know how things work out with ‘Gurt._

 **_Aimée_ ** _EWWW_

Sebastian looks at the guy’s picture again. He can see why Aimée is putting in the effort. And he doesn’t doubt for a second that she can charm the pants off him.

* * *

 ** _Stan the Man_ ** _What are you listening to right now? I need something to go running_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I usually listen to heavy stuff when I wanna sweat; Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, etc_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _That sounds too intense._

 ** _Aimée_** _I got_ Logic _in my ears right now._ Under Pressure _is an amazing album._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Great, thanks_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Running’s the worst though, I’d avoid that at all cost._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _It’s pretty great running in NYC_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I’ve always hated it. So glad I have my trainer_ _♥_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Right. And that has nothing to do with the fact that he’s 25, stacked, tall, blonde and you guys make inappropriate jokes the entire time you’re working out?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Whatever motivates me, right?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _What motivates you?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _It makes me feel good_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Sure sure_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Is everything you do solely motivated by looking hot and sex?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I had braces in my 20s & I wore glasses until I was 25 & I was 200+ pounds most of my life. Now that I have my shit together, yes, everything is about being hot and gettin’ some. _

**_Aimée_ ** _Does that make me shallow?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _You’re just enjoying the fruits of your labour. You worked hard for it, right?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I really did._

 **_Aimée_ ** _I’d hate you thinking I was a bad person._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _You’re not so I wouldn’t._

 **_Aimée_ ** _What if I told you I tried to bribe a student at work to go spy on my trainer’s girlfriend while she worked at another gym downtown?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Ames, you think I don’t know you would absolutely abuse your authority for something like that?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _You’re a good bro, bro_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _You know what makes a bad person? Overusing the word “bro”_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Loveyoubrokthnxbye_

* * *

_"Aaaaames! Pick up the goddamn phone!”_

Aimée listens to the message again, imagining how exasperated Sebastian’s face must have looked when he left it an hour ago. She presses on his number and put the phone to her ear as it rings.

“Jesus, what took so long?”

“Excuse me, some of us have real jobs,” Aimée defends herself. “Slacker,” she adds under her breath.

“I’m coming to Toronto for some interviews in a couple weeks. Wanna meet up?”

“FUCK YES! Send me the details as soon as you have them.”

“My assistant should be sending it now,” he says.

“Hm! You were so sure I’d be into it, eh.”

“We both know all you ever think about is how awesome it is to know me.”

“More like I think about how dull your life must have been before I graced you with my illuminating everything.”

“It was a cesspool of boredom and darkness without you, Ames,” he concedes. He preens a little at the sound of her laughter; there’s nothing in the world more satisfying than making someone innately funny burst out laughing. “Bring something nice, we’ll go out.”

“Not a problem; everything I own is nice.”

Sebastian scoffs. “Every picture from your trip to Germany last month is you wearing a loose, neon pink tank top and gray yoga pants.”

“Yeah?”

“The last two pictures you sent, you were wearing this ratty sweatshirt with jeans that clearly are too big for you that you refuse to throw away.”

“It was the weekend!”

“It was _Thursday_.”

“Almost the weekend…” Aimée smiles to herself. “This is going to be fun, thanks for thinking of me.”

“Of course, Ames,” he says fondly. “Really looking forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise that the next chapter will be a BIG one!


	4. Toronto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aimée and Sebastian meet up in Toronto

When Aimée sees Sebastian standing in the hotel lobby, she takes a deep breath. As much fun as it is having a mostly-texting relationship with him, she’s exceedingly excited to get to spend time with him in person. He looks good in his dark jeans and jean jacket over a black t-shirt. He hasn’t shaved in a few days and he runs his hand absentmindedly over his jaw as he looks at his phone. She walks up behind him slowly, peering over his shoulder at the screen. He’s looking through pictures on some matchmaking app and it takes every ounce of willpower she has not to laugh out loud.

“Busted,” she says smirking. He looks over his shoulder and puts an arm around her shoulders to give her a side hug.

“What do you think?” he asks as he swipes so she can see all the pictures on the person’s profile.

“She’s doing shots in one picture, showing off her lower back tattoo in another and climbing a mountain in the last,” Aimée observes. “You got yourself an adrenaline junkie ho. Congratulations!”

“I can’t wait for her to meet mom.”

“Why, does your mom have a tramp stamp too?”

“Ugh,” he says pulling his arm away. “You took it too far.” He puts his phone away and looks his friend over with a smile on his face, assessing her well-being. “I’m really happy to see you,” he says putting a hand on her arm and squeezing.

“Me too, man,” she says nodding.

“You want to get some food, catch up?”

* * *

“Do I look really tired?” he asks her between bites of chicken and veggies.

Aimée looks up from her pad thai and studies his face. “You look fine. Maybe not super fresh but not like you’re dying.”

“I love how you’re always so helpful,” he says sarcastically.

“You’re the goodest bro in this relationship and you know it,” she says shoveling a piece of broccoli in her mouth.

“Mostly because I don’t use the word _bro_.”

“How was your morning interview?”

“Good, good. The usual, you know,” he says sighing lightly.

“What’s the question you always hate getting?”

“I dunno. They're mostly fine, just a bit repetitive,” he shrugs.

“I should find out your schedule and then send in bomb questions to make things interesting for you.”

“And every one of them would be _what are you wearing_ ,” Sebastian says smiling.

“Oh my God, have I become that predictable?” she asks wide-eyed.

“I mean, it’s the first thing you ask when we talk on the phone.”

“Pfft as if you’re not dying to know what _I’m_ wearing.”

“You’re incorrigible, you know that?” She closes her eyes and smiles the biggest smile over a full mouth. “So I have another radio thing at 2 that I thought you could come with me. Then we can go out and do a bit of shopping, then back to our rooms, shower and change before a late dinner and drinks?”

“You had me at _I_.”

They finish their meal before grabbing a cab to head out to the radio station. On the way, they catch up by showing each other pictures on their phones they’ve accumulated over the last few weeks. As she presents her phone to Sebastian, Aimée realizes her folder of steamy pictures isn’t hidden and yanks the phone away to set it to private mode.

“Do you seriously have 90 pictures in that folder?”

“That’s all you got from that? No _hey nice rack_ or _I have the exact same pair of black lace booty shorts_?”

“90 is just so many.”

“Excuse me for not risking life imitating the movie Sextape and not uploading my nudes to the cloud.”

“I’d think a couple pics from a couple angles would be sufficient.”

“Oh you poor, naïve, sensitive virgin,” Aimée says patting his shoulder, earning a funny look from the taxi driver.

“You’re going to make me regret bringing you to this interview, aren’t you?”  

* * *

_“Obviously working with Marvel opened all those doors for you.”_

Aimée wants to punch the two radio hosts; their questions are banal and she hates people minimizing her friend’s hard work as if he’s coasting on his Marvel luck.

“I’m definitely extremely grateful for the opportunities and visibility that I was able to have from working on Captain America. I wasn’t always able to choose such, you know, interesting, rich roles before and for sure, maybe I wouldn’t have been able to work with amazing, talented people like Margot Robbie and Allison Janney. I’m really blessed.”

God, he’s so diplomatic. Aimée admires that about him. She wishes she could be more subtle with her thoughts and emotions but she feels like an open book.

“So who is more impressive to work with, Meryl Streep or RDJ?” one of the hosts, Bud, asks him.

"Who's the bigger diva is what we really want to know," the other host chimes in and they laugh.

“I can't really say," Sebastian shrugs. "You don't mess with Hollywood royalty."

“Okay, I have a few e-mail questions here,” says Bud, “and then we’ll take some questions from callers, okay?”

“Sounds good,” the actor says nodding.

“Alright, first question from BuckyisBae1987@shaw.ca is, _what are you wearing_?” Sebastian’s eyes shoot up to Aimée standing a few feet away and he snorts, shaking his head and hiding his face in his hands. The host follows his gaze and looks at her. “Are you looking over at your girlfriend to see if you can safely answer the question?”

Sebastian laughs even harder. “It’s just a silly inside joke with my good friend over there. And she’s clearly way too good for the likes of me.” The three of them look at her and she nods, mouthing _it’s true I am_.

“Oh really?” the host continues.

“I flirted with her first time we met and she shot me down.” The hosts make pained noises and Aimée motions to ask if she can say something. The hosts wave her over and she walks up to them, leaning over the mic.

“I’m saving myself for Captain America,” she says and the room erupts in laughter.

“Ain’t that always the way,” Sebastian says shrugging sadly.

“Did you guys know each other before he got famous?” the taller host asked.

“No but I will say, if I can,” Aimée asks the hosts who nod encouragingly, “that Seb is the most down-to-earth, funny, kind person. He’s really the nicest guy you'll ever meet.”

“Aw thanks, Ames,” Sebastian says ducking his head humbly.

“He does have flaws, don’t get me wrong; he has overly expensive taste in clothing and he’s kind of a big nerd. Also, clearly, that face,” she says with pretend disgust.

“Yes, it’s very uncomfortable to look at,” Bud play along. Aimée waves a hand in thanks and goodbye before making her way out. As soon as she’s out of the sound booth, her adrenaline level drops and she suddenly feels overwhelming guilt for hijacking the interview.

When her friend meets up with her in the lobby, he greets her with a smile that fades when he sees the panic on her face. “You okay?”

“I’m sorry for jumping in there,” she says apologetically. “I should have asked you if it was alright.”

“Ames, it was great,” he assures her. “The guys had fun and when we went to break, they said you were entertaining as hell. Don’t worry about it.”

“But I could have screwed this up for you, professionally speaking. You’ve worked so hard…”

He puts an arm around her shoulders to show her he’s not upset. “You really need to chill. You’re too hard on yourself.” She doesn’t say anything and he squeezes her again. “Did you actually create a fake email just to send that _what am I wearing_ question?” Aimée looking up with a small smile and Sebastian laughs. “You are such a shit.”

* * *

The afternoon is fun and relaxing, with more shopping in a few hours than Aimée cares to do in a year. “What are you wearing tonight?”

“I brought my navy dress,” Aimée answers. Sebastian doesn’t say anything so she looks up at his face and sees that he’s clearly unimpressed with her choice. “What? I wore it to the charity thing two weeks ago.”

“Oh I remember.”

“What is that tone?” she asks slightly offended.

“We can do better than that,” he says motioning to the women’s fashion store they’re standing in front of. Aimée makes a sound like she’s dying and he pushes her towards the door with the bags he's holding. The first thing Aimée notices is the price tag on the mannequin’s dress.

“This dress is $300, Stan. That’s my drinking money!” she whines.

“You deserve a hot, new dress so we’re getting one,” he insists. “Why do you hate shopping so much?”

“Leftover anxiety from my fat days,” she says casually. “I don’t know that anything here will fit curves like mine.”

“I’m hearing a lot of excuses and not a lot of you pointing out things you like.” She makes a face at him before walking away. She notices him talking to a tall, blonde saleswoman near the front and decides to hide towards the back. When she finally takes a seriously look, she finds there are a lot of nice outfits she could see herself in. She grabs a black and white dress and heads for the dressing rooms. The dress is halfway on when her phones buzzes.

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _I swear to God if you snuck out of the store while I wasn’t looking…_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I’m trying on a dress, DAD  
_

Footsteps get closer a second later and she opens the door to face him. He looks her up and down, his expression neutral. She turns around so he can zip her up before walking up to a full-body mirror. “So?”

“It’s nice,” he says. “A little plain.”

“It’s not just black.”

“It’s not _not_ black. You look good but I was thinking more this,” he says handing her a teal silk dress.

He unzips her and she slinks back into the dressing room. She hangs the new dress on the wall and stares at it. _Too delicate_. She sighs as she takes off the first dress and slips on the second. She looks at herself in the mirror, taking in the fit of the garment; it doesn’t look as delicate on her as it did on the hanger.  She snorts derisively at herself.

When she steps out, he doesn’t say anything, just looks at her as she turns. “It’s pretty,” he finally says, “but it’s not the right one.” The saleswoman he was talking to earlier comes by and hands Aimée another dress.

“The burgundy one we discussed,” she says smiling at Sebastian.

“Great, thank you,” he smiles back. Her eyes linger on him a few extra seconds before she walks away.

“Girl’s got it bad,” Aimée says as she walks back to the dressing room. “You notice her very high, very shiny, white pointy-toed pumps?”

“Of course I noticed, what am I, dead?” he says quickly and she laughs as she pulls the dress above her head.

“You should invite her out later.”

“Let’s see if we survive this first.”

“Ha ha,” she fake laughs. “You’re a real swell guy, you know that?”

“You just told the entire city that I’m the nicest guy so your thinly veiled insults mean nothing.”

“Instant regret,” she mutters as she slips on the tight cocktail dress. She looks in the mirror and surprisingly can’t find anything bad to say; the colour suits her well, the lace over the cleavage is the perfect balance of naughty and nice and it hugs her hips just the right way. She opens the door and steps out to face the full-body mirror again. Sebastian is distracted, looking towards the front at the blonde. He eventually turns to look at his friend and his eyebrows shoot up.

“Ames, that dress is _sex_ on you.”

“Really?” she says trying to contain her grin. “I mean, it’s nice but-”

“No, really. _Damn, bro!_ ”

“Oh my God,” she says looking at him with a fake tearful expression. “I made you bro, bro.”

“Alright, let’s bag ‘er up and get the fuck out. I need coffee.”

They bring the dress to the front and argue for a bit about who’s paying for it. She looks him dead in the eyes as she pulls out her card and hands it to the tall blonde.

* * *

Aimée phone buzzes as she’s curling the last strand of hair. She turns the curler off and grabs the phone, grinning as she looks at the email alert.

_Marvel actor Sebastian Stan stopped by 107.6 JILT radio today for an interview with Bud and Rush. The actor is in town to promote his newest Marvel movie and discuss how his life has changed drastically in the last few years._

The article quotes a few lines and goes on to mention the interaction with Aimée:

_Stan’s friend also joined in on the fun, poking fun at the actor for being “a big nerd”. The friendly ribbing is clearly endearing to the star as he mentioned that the support of his family and friends and their strong bonds is what keeps him grounded._

Aimée texts Sebastian a link to the article and he responds less than a minute later.

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Do you have a Google alert set up for my name??_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Of course I do._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _That’s not creepy at all_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Your face is creepy_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Why are you like this?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I wasn’t hugged enough as a child._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _That explains so much_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Ready to go?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Yisss ;-)_

* * *

A cab drops them off near the more high-end nightclubs for drinks and a late dinner and they settle in to start the evening.

“Vindication tastes even sweeter than this whiskey,” Sebastian says smirking into his glass.

“What are you talking about?” Aimée asks before taking a sip of her white wine.

“That dress. I convinced you to try something out of your comfort zone, that I knew you’d look bangin’ in and now people can’t keep their eyes off you.”

Aimée looks around and eyes are indeed on them. But she knows well they aren’t interested in her outfit for the simple fact that her friend is often the most attractive person in any room. She clicks her tongue. “People are clearly looking at you, you dork.”

“Not this time,” he insists.

“Alright, well, agree to disagree,” she shrugs.

He downs the rest of his drink. “You’re the most self-conscious confident person I know. It’s kind of ridiculous.”

“You know what’s ridiculous? Your stupid potato face,” she spits at him.

Sebastian gasps exaggeratedly. “It was _you_ who wrote that mean tweet!” Aimée can’t hide her smile. “I’m just giving you a hard time because you look great and you should be proud of how far you’ve come.”

“I know,” she says taking a large sip of her drink. “Thanks.”

“Now apologize for that potato comment.”

“I’m sorry I called your handsome face a potato face,” she mutters.

“Apology accepted,” he says winking.

They talk and drink for a while before ordering dinner. The food is good as is the ambiance and the conversation is lively. The best part of their friendship is constantly trying to crack each other up. Sebastian is easy and open and laughs freely. Aimée’s laugh is harder to earn but she's always smiling. His loves when she startles him by unexpectedly barking out a laugh. So satisfying.

After dinner, they head out to a nearby nightclub to lounge and possibly dance. She doesn’t enjoy dancing because she has zero rhythm, especially compared to Sebastian who’s so in control of his body. She feels awkward as she moves on the dance floor until he puts an arm around her waist and pulls her to dance with him. She can barely hear him over the music when he leans in and tells her to stop looking at her feet. She looks up and he makes a ridiculous move to make her laugh, popping his hips and elbows left and right. He smiles when he succeeds and they move more naturally together.

Later in the night, they’re sitting at the bar when someone catches Sebastian’s eye. “Hey, is that..?”

Aimée glances behind her then turns casually back to her drink. “Sarah, the salesgirl from the store.” He looks at his friend curiously. “I wanted to thank you for such a great day and 'cause you really are the goodest bro. I called the store, got Sarah on the phone and told her to come out tonight.”

“Wait, you don’t have to leave," he says when Aimée downs the rest of her drink and slides off her stool. "Stay with us for a bit.”

“Nah, this is for you,” she says smiling.

“Wow, you’re something else, Ames.”

“I sure am,” she says hugging him goodbye. “And just so you know, I didn’t do it because you need a wingman but because I am an amazing wingman.”

“Oh I believe it,” he says when Sarah finally locks eyes with him and smiles.

* * *

“Open the door, Ames,” Sebastian says through the door at 9 am the morning after. “Your precious Americano is getting cold.” He hears shuffling on the other side of the door. “Don’t be a lazy ass, we only have a day left befo-” He’s cut off by the door opening and his eyebrows shoot up when he’s face-to-face with a tall, brown-haired man. The stranger is attractive even with his bedhead and wrinkled shirt. The stranger smiles and nods as he passes by him and Sebastian walks into Aimée’s hotel room with the biggest smirk. The door to the bathroom is closed and he can hear running water behind it. He takes in the messy room; sheets half off the bed, pillows everywhere. His friend steps out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a black tank top, smiling brightly when she sees him.

“Good morning!”

“I bet it is,” he says with the cheekiest grin. He hands her the coffee and she thanks him before taking two large gulps. She grabs a checkered scarf from her suitcase and wraps it around her neck.

“How was the rest of your evening with Sarah?”

“Great,” Sebastian says as he makes to sit on the bed then straightens before his butt touches the mattress when he remembers... “We had a couple drinks, it was nice.”

“Good,” Aimée says while applying lipstick. She pauses and looks at him in the mirror. “And?”

“And she’s great.”

“And?”

Sebastian looks at her with a raised eyebrow. “... And I fucked her?”

Aimée smiles satisfactorily before getting back to her lipstick. “That’s my boy. You make me so proud.”

“You’d make the most embarrassing mom.”

“You’re damn right I would.”

“It’s nice to see you in such a good mood.”

“Well, when mama gets her sugar-”

“God, please stop,” he pleads. “So who’s the guy?”

“Bartender at the hotel bar downstairs.” She presses her lips together and puts her makeup away. “Handsome fella, eh?”

“Oh yeah, eh.”

Aimée gives him a dirty look. “How dare you make fun of my Canadian-ness?”

“Was that your plan all along last night; you’d hook me up with Sarah to go pick up the bartender?”

“I fully intended on going straight to my room, putting on my PJs and hating on reruns of How I Met Your Mother because it’s a terrible show. But as I walked across the lobby, I happened to glance at the bar and saw Tall, Dark and Handsome serving martinis and I thought to myself, maybe one more drink wouldn’t hurt. Yadda yadda yadda, I’m real tired today.”

“Great story, Elaine.”

“Alejandro had some great ideas of what we could do today,” Aimée says excitedly. “We could spend the day eating and checking out the St. Lawrence Market. I might even let you convince me to try oysters again,” she says in a singsong voice, “even though I threw up last time.” Sebastian gives her a pained, slightly disgusted look. “And then we could go to Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada.”

“Was Alejandro this chatty last night? Cause if so, I’m surprised you managed to get anything done and anyone off.”

“I’m just wired as hell after a night of yadda yadda,” Aimée says as they walk out. “I’m pretty transparent that way.”

“Right, just that one way.”

“Okay, enough with the sass, Stan,” Aimée says and he smiles thinking _And she’s back_. It hasn’t escaped him that Aimée used the excuse that she didn’t do casual encounters the night they met, yet had no problem hooking up with a stranger at a hotel. He didn’t let it bother him; things had worked out perfectly anyway.

They spend the day as suggested by Aimée boytoy, walking around the large market and sampling produce, bread, seafood and unusual condiments. Later in the day, they head to the aquarium and marvel at the beauty of the fish and tropical plants. In the afternoon, they walk around the large green park enjoying the sunshine while eating ice cream cones.

“You’ve seen the Niagara Falls, right?” Aimée asks.

“Can’t say that I have.”

“What! Not even on the New York side?”

“There’s a New York side? Wait, I think I knew that.”

“Oh my God,” she says, horrified. She checks the time on her phone. “You up for a road trip?”

“Won’t it be dark by the time we get there?”

“Even better,” she says winking.

Half an hour later, they’re in the car with Aimée behind the wheel. She hates driving around Toronto but she wants to do it for Seb. She glances at him from the corner of her eyes; his face is relaxed, his eyes looking out at the horizon through his designer sunglasses. His hair moves in waves from the wind of the open window and Aimée can’t help thinking how perfect his silhouette is. 

Dusk sets in when they pull into the parking lot near the falls. They leave their sunglasses in the car and start making the long walk to the observation balconies. There are already a lot of people huddled around and it takes a few minutes for them to worm their way to a railing near the front. Sebastian looks at the impressive cascades that come down in tonnes every minute. 

“The falls are actually made up of three waterfalls; the Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls,” Aimée explains. “The combined falls form the highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America, with a vertical drop of more than 165 feet. More than six million cubic feet of water goes over the crest of the falls every minute. “

“That’s impressive,” Sebastian remarks.

“I know, right? Who would have thought water could be interesting.”

“I meant you,” he says smiling. “How do you know this stuff?”

“Well it’s one of the most famous Canadian landmarks.”

“ _Your face_ is one of the most famous Canadian landmarks,” he says.

“Come on now,” she says bumping his elbow with hers to distract from the fact that she’s blushing. “Can you guess how the falls were formed?”

“Glaciers?”

“Yep, glaciers receded at the end of the last ice age and water from the Great Lakes carved a bath through the Niagara Escarpment on route to the Atlantic Ocean.”

“Not the e _scarpment!_ ”

“ _Yes, the escarpment_!”

They laugh and lean forward against the railing, waiting for the sun to set. “Hey,” Sebastian says nudging his friend with his elbow. “Thanks for this.”

“Pleasure’s all mine,” she smiles. “Thanks for inviting me to hang. I know you’re pretty busy.”

“Friends and family are important, just as much as work. I love my work and I love my life, and I know it wouldn’t be the same without people like you.”

“Bro, you’re going to make me cry,” Aimée says looking down.  

“Good, remember that when I’m sequestered for weeks at a time and can’t reach out.”

“It wouldn’t be so drastic if you could keep your mouth shut instead of dropping spoilers all over the place.”

“Okay okay, tender moment over,” he says, making her laugh. 

Suddenly the falls light up in bright, pink, purple, blue colours. Loud, instrumental music comes on and the general feeling around them is cool awe. “Wow,” Sebastian says quietly. He puts an arm around Aimée’s shoulders as they take everything in. They linger for a bit and take a couple pictures and selfies with the fall. Their favourite is one where you can only see the top half of their heads and the falls behind them. He posts the picture on Instagram with the caption _Just two weirdos trying to figure out how nature makes water blue/purple/pink…#NiagaraFalls #We’llAlwaysHaveTheFalls #NatureYouCrazy_

Sebastian insists on driving back so Aimée sets the GPS for him and lies back in her seat. When he looks over minutes later, her eyes are closed and her chest rises and falls gently. He grabs her ipod and turns on the sound system. He chooses a random playlist and Celine Dion starts singing in French.

 _Quand je m'endors contre ton corps_  
_Alors je n'ai plus de doutes_  
_L'amour existe encore_

He shudders and hurries to skip the song only to change to an S Club 7 tune. “Fucking hell, Ames,” he mutters as he skips that one too. The third time is a charm when _Siberia_ by _Lights_ comes on.

 _From the busy parks to the icy tides_  
_Someday we'll decide where we want to live out our lives_  
_For now we're two sparks tumbling along_  
_Keeping the heat on_  
_Even though summer's come and gone_  
  
_I would sail across the east sea_  
_Just to see you on the far side_  
_Where the wind is cold and angry_  
_There you'll be to take me inside_  
_We'll find ways to fill the empty_  
_Far from all the hysteria_  
_I don't care if we suddenly_  
_Find ourselves in Siberia, Siberia_  
  
_Inside a street car or on a mountain trail_  
_Details, details you breathe in when I exhale_  
_No matter where we are or which way the wind blows_  
_Or how heavy the snow_  
_Nothing can change where we will go_  
  
Aimée makes a sound that makes him glance over. Her eyes are still closed and her body relaxed but her lips are moving ever-so-slightly, as if singing along in her sleep.   
  
_I would sail across the east sea_  
_Just to see you on the far side_  
_Where the wind is cold and angry_  
_There you'll be to take me inside_  
_We'll find ways to fill the empty_  
_Far from all the hysteria_  
_I don't care if we suddenly_  
_Find ourselves in Siberia, Siberia_

_We'll leave Canada for Siberia  
_

* * *

Aimée walks across the hotel lobby with her suitcase in tow after checking out of her room. She walks up to her friend as he sits in the waiting area that looks like an overly expensive, modern living room. “All checked out.”

He pockets his phone and stands tall in front of her. “You double-checked the room to make sure you didn’t forget anything like your toothbrush or phone charger?”

“Yes dad,” she rolls her eyes, though they both know she secretly enjoys when he _dads_ her. “Thanks again for everything. I had a blast.”

He pulls her in for a hug, holding her to him a few seconds before pulling away. “Thanks for coming, Ames. You really made the trip for me.”

“Come on, the only reason you came down here is to chase some hot Canadian tail,” she teases him.

“Pfft you’re one to talk, Miss I-don’t-do-casual-hookups-but-oh-wait-a-minute-while-I-tap-the-bartender.”

Aimée blushes and punches him on the shoulder before kissing his cheeks. “You gonna be okay by yourself? I don’t need to identify a responsible adult to supervise you?”

“I don’t know, I guess you’ll find out when you check the 5 o’clock news,” he jokes. “My flight leaves this afternoon so the damage should be minimal.”

“Okay then. I’ll grab a cab outside and head to the train station.” He offers to help her with her suitcase but she insists she’s fine. The truth is goodbyes are just too hard and she needs the space to keep her shit together.

“Text me when you get home.”

“Ditto, eh.”

“For sure, eh,” he says winking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what I'm thinking for the cocktail dress: https://www.clotheseek.com/product/tadashi-shoji-embroidered-lace-sheath-cocktail-dress-burgundy/
> 
> And Seb has probably been to see the falls but let's pretend he hasn't :)


	5. Snippets #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Skype convo, text convo and a competition where everyone loses

“SEEEEEBBBBBBBBB! OH MY GOOOOOOOD!”

Sebastian’s face scrunches up at Aimée’s piercing shriek over his laptop speakers. When he opens his eyes and uncovers his ears, she’s looking at him with utter glee on her face. “Hey so I changed my hair,” he says nonchalantly.

“No shit!” Her eyes keep roaming his face over her computer screen. “Oh my God, Seb. It’s so..!”

“Blond?”

“ _So_ blond! What the fuck possessed you? Are you playing The Young Hot One in a movie about a boy band?”

Sebastian laughs. “You’re a dick.”

“And you’re Nick Carter!” He flips her his middle finger. “I’m mostly just messing with you, eh. You’re still super handsome.”

“Thanks, _mom_. I’m playing a young J.K. Simmons.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. He’s so good.”

“Yeah he is. “

“Is he nice?”

“I haven’t actually met him yet,” he confesses. “We don’t really have scenes together.” She’s staring at him again. “What?”

“I can’t get over it,” she says chuckling. “I love when you change your appearance for a role. When you look like you but not.”

“Well that’s the only reason I take these roles, Ames, because you enjoy them so much.”

“That sass is very unbecoming, Stan. What would Mister Simmons say?”

“Probably that I’m a saint for putting up with you.”

“Pffffft would not. He’d think I’m a goddamn delight.”

“He’s married, Ames.”

She scoffs. “Why do you always think-” He stares at her with an expression that clearly says _bish please_. “Okay, withdrawn…”

* * *

 

 **Ames** I did it!

 **Ames** My appointment with Doctor Russell is on the 17th!

 **Stan the Man** Doctor? Are you okay?

 **Ames** Of course I am - He’s the surgeon I mentioned a couple months ago. He did my cousin’s boob job?

 **Stan the Man** Okayyy and why did you book an appointment with him?

 **Ames** So he can fix my nose d'uh

 **Stan the Man** Are you serious? Jesus, your nose is not crooked

 **Ames** It leans hardcore towards the right and you know it

 **Stan the Man** No, YOU told me it does and then I had to squint real hard and look to see that maybe it kind of is a degree or two leaning one way

 **Ames** I’ll probably have him look at my chest too

 **Stan the Man** I know I'll regretting asking but what’s wrong with your chest?

 **Ames** They’re lopsided

 **Stan the Man** Most are different sizes

 **Stan the Man** How am I having to explain this to a woman

 **Ames** I know that but I want him to fix mine

 **Stan the Man** Ames, you’re fine the way you are

 **Ames** I’m going to say this just once, because you are my friend and I love you and you’re very attractive – thanks but fuck you

 **Stan the Man** How can you be such a catch and other times such a release?

 **Ames** Genes, talent and being in a constant state of irritation

 **Stan the Man** Look, you can do whatever you want, your body your choice and all

 **Stan the Man** But there’s only one you, one person who looks like you and whose body has been through what it’s been through. You don’t need to go at it with a knife it for it to be good or even great.

 **Stan the Man** Just think about it very carefully before you make any binding decisions, okay?

 **Ames** And if I decide to fix my nose?

 **Stan the Man** It’s not broken… But if you decide to alter it, then you’ll be just as beautiful as you are now.

 **Ames** That’s a very nice and terrible thing to say

 **Ames** Thank you for your concern

 **Ames** You can say I told you so if this Jennifer Grey’s me and I’m never heard from again

 **Ames** If you want I can ask him about your thing

 **Stan the Man** WTF?

 **Stan the Man** What thing??

 **Stan the Man** AMES???

* * *

“Okay but there should be ground rules.”

“Fuck that, Stan, anything goes.”

Sebastian sighs deeply as he looks around the largest thrift store he’s ever seen. “What about a price ceiling?”

“What, like you can’t afford anything you’d find here?” she asks skeptically. “You’re just scared mine will be more embarrassing than yours.”

“No, I’m scared you’re going to get me a painting of a sad clown the size of an entire wall,” he says pointing to that exact thing.

“Alright,” Aimée says rolling her eyes. “Nothing as big as a wall and no clowns, okay?”

“Ugh, I’m going to regret this.”

“You’re going about this with the wrong attitude.” She looks at her phone. “Okay, 20 minutes starting… now!” She’s off like a rocket while he lingers to look at what’s nearby. There are so many terrible choices and they must find something that’s a delicate balance of tasteless and embarrassing as all hell. There can be no way the item could be passed off as ironic. The stakes are high but the bragging rights are well within reach. He is going to _crush_ her. He hears her giggling as she rushes through the aisle to get a look at all the options. He’s holding up a pair of antique flamingo ashtrays when he hears her burst out laughing. “Oh my God,” she wheezes. “I think I got it.”

“It’s only been 7 minutes!” Sebastian protests. He has to pick up the pace because she is doing much better than he expected. He feels her whipping past him in the next aisle. “No running! That’s cheating!”

“Mehmehmeh-mehmehmeh,” she mimics mockingly as she flips him off with both hands.

He changes up his strategy, leaving the glass trinkets aisle to head into décor. He flips through dozens of posters and dusty frames. He glances at his watch, cringing to see there are only three minutes left. He does another sweep of the area and starts to entertain the idea he’s losing this match when neon and pastel assault the corner of his eye. It’s _magnificent_ ; a huge porcelain swan with gold trim, feathers painted in aggressive neon colours as if it’s wearing the world’s ugliest windbreaker. There is a fake head of 80s hair on its head and heavy fake pastel makeup on its eyelids and beak. What is it even..? _Perfection_ , Sebastian tells himself. He picks it up and smiles to himself at how annoyingly heavy it is. He drapes his jacket over it as it brings it over to the cash. Aimée is already waiting by the door with her purchase.

“Took your sweet time, Stan,” she taunts him. “Cutting it pretty close, eh?”

“A win’s a win, doesn’t matter if it took a minute or 20,” he says casually. The cashier rings it up and Sebastian holds out the money, thinking he would have paid a thousand more just for the look on her face later. He joins her by the door and they head to the coffee shop next door to do the exchange.

“Okay, you ready?”

“So ready,” Sebastian says, already having trouble keeping his giggling in check.

“Remember, whatever you get, you have to put it in your home and it must be in a prominent place that anyone who walks in will see it.”

“You sure you don’t want to revisit that before we reveal?” Sebastian asks, motioning to the size of what he picked for her.

“Bring it on.” They exchange items and Sebastian is surprised to find his is even heavier than what he picked out. They both start unwrapping and groan at the unveiling.  “Oh my God Seb, _no!_ ” He cackles at the horror on her face. His expression turns to confusion when he gets a good look at his own thing. He turns what is obviously a lamp around to inspect it.

“Is this a… a _slutty elephant_?! What the fuck!” The elephant in question is dressed in lingerie, has heavy lashes and lipstick and seems to be using the lamp stem as a dancing pole.

“This thing is horrendous,” Aimée whines. “It’s everything I hate all rolled into one.”

“I don’t even know what to say,” he says staring at it. “I don’t hate elephants but I don’t get hard-ons for them either.”

“Good thing, considering you’ll be seeing that sexy thing every day.” They both stare at their “gifts”, dejected. Sebastian sets his beside Aimée’s and they compare them, agreeing that they’re both awful.

“So who wins?”

“Neither of us, clearly.”

“Where you gonna put yours?”

Aimée lets out a big sigh. “I don't know, the bathroom?”

“Mine’s a fucking lamp, I can’t hide it behind the toilet.”

“Uh, s’cuse me, I’m not hiding it. The bathroom is the one room everyone visits. What about your bedroom?”

“Right, cause I want women to think I like to look at elephant cleavage when I’m in bed.”

“Come on, it’s kind of cute, like Betty Boop.”

“It’s obscene,” he corrects her. He looks it over again. “Maybe the guest room?”

“Definitely the guest room.” Aimée can’t take her eyes off hers, cringing with every new feature she sees. “How long we gotta do this for?”

“Whoever keeps it the longest wins?” Seb offers.

“Deal.”


	6. New Year's Eve

Aimée is printing a presentation for a meeting when her phone buzzes in her back pocket. She pulls it out and puts an earbud in her ear before answering.

“Hey buddy!” she says cheerfully.

“Hey, how are you?” Sebastian says with a smile she can almost hear over the line.

“Eh, getting ready for a two hour meeting so a little suicidal,” she answers casually. “You?”

“Day off, just doing stuff around the apartment.”

“Jelly.”

“What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?”

Aimée looks around her, as if wondering where the hell that came from. “Well it’s frickin’ October, Seb, so I dunno.”

“I got invited to this party being DJed by Ansel Elgort in New York. You in?”

“Are you fu- frickin’ _kidding_ me? Hell yeah I’m in!”

“Sweet, knew it would tickle your fancy.”

“Oh man, travelling during the holidays though…” She groans at the thought.

“Well if you’re not into it, I’m sure I can find someone else who’ll want to have an amazing time and mingle with the famous singles and-”

“You shut your stupid, sexy mouth, Stan. I’ll be there with bells on!”

“Please don’t bring bells.”

“Without bells on! But wait, wouldn’t you rather bring a date?”

“Ames, you’re my bro and we’re going to party, alright?”

“Woohoo I’m going to get wasted on champagne!”

“Don’t get champagne wasted.”

“If this is how you’re going to be the entire time, forget it.”

“Alright, _some_ champagne.”

“Woohoo champagne wasted!”

“Ugh.”

* * *

“Lookit your face!” Aimée shouts as she wraps her arms around her friend. They pull away and she runs her nails over his furry cheeks. “So scruffy.”

“S’what happens during down time,” he explains as he takes her travel bag from her.

“S’what happens when you don’t have a girl…” she mutters.

“What was that? _Thank you for picking me up at the very crowded airport during very shitty weather, Sebastian?_ ”

“Thank you, Sebastian,” she says sheepishly.

“I hope you brought something to wear for this party because I don’t think either of us is up for shopping this time of year.”

“Oh I think you’ll approve.”

* * *

“So what happens at midnight?”

Sebastian looks at his friend sitting beside him. The taxi they’re in is zigzagging through traffic as best he can considering it’s December 31st and there’s even more traffic than usual. “You _have_ lived through one of these before, right?”

Aimée rolls her eyes. “I mean you’re supposed to kiss someone at midnight. What if I can’t find someone to kiss?”

“I doubt you’ll have any trouble with that, A,” Sebastian says reassuringly.

“But what if I don’t?”

“And what if _I_ don’t?”

Aimée looks at him like he’s stupid. “Don’t be stupid.”

Sebastian laughs. “Right back at ya.”

“Will you find me if we’re both alone?”

“Sure.”

“Promise?”

He looks at her with fond eyes. “I won’t leave you alone, Ames.”

“Okay,” she says smiling with relief.

* * *

“Sweet fucking hell.”

Aimée’s eyes are as wide as they’ve ever been as she looks around at the venue; giant lanterns hanging from the ceiling, lights low and energetic ambiance as people drink and move their bodies. Sebastian’s fingers encircle her wrist and tugs gently towards coat check. He had seen the tight, blood red dress on her before they left his apartment but he can’t help looking again when she shrugs off her coat; the spaghetti straps show off Aimée’s bare shoulders and the short hemline fall just above her knee. The fabric hugs her curves, making her waist look more defined and slender, just as she likes it. The outfit is a good enough reason to think he won’t be seeing her at 12 o’clock.

They make their way back to the party and head to the bar for drinks. They toast with a couple shots of expensive tequila that goes down so smoothly that Aimée thinks it could be dangerous. They down another shot and take their drinks to the floor to mingle. Sebastian encounters a few acquaintances, doling out handshakes and hugs like they’re on special. Aimée smiles and shakes their hands as they’re introduced, making polite conversation as much as possible over the loud music.

Aimée drags Sebastian to dance when _Supernova_ starts, shouting how it’s “her jam”. He can’t hear what she’s saying but he knows anyway because he knows all her jams. “This beat is _so hot_!” he reads on her lips. He can tell she’s a little tipsy from the way she moves without feeling self-conscious. His body follows hers, eyes sweeping the room as she closes hers. A few of his friends join them to dance and they raise their glasses to cheer. When they finish their drinks, he takes Aimée’s empty glass and heads to the bar for refills. Fresh drinks in hand, he turns and sees her leaning into someone he doesn’t recognize She’s trying to hear that he’s saying, his mouth close to her ear. Sebastian hangs back, giving her space to make her own acquaintances and possibly a midnight date. Ansel Elgort himself happens to walks up to the bar for a drink and recognizes Sebastian.

“Hey, Sebastian Stan, right?” He extends his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m a fan of your work.”

Sebastian smiles and shakes his hand. “Marvel fanboy, eh?”

Ansel’s smile widens. “Who isn’t! You were amazing in _I, Tonya_! Ah man, you and Paul Hauser!”

“Thanks, man. Baby Driver was pretty amazing, too.” Sebastian glances at the dance floor. “I wish my friend was here, she’s a big fan of your music. Nearly ripped my arm off dragging me to dance when your song came on earlier.”

“Thanks, I’m glad she likes it.” Ansel’s partner slides up beside him and he puts his arm around her as he smiles warmly. “Sebastian, this is my love Violetta. She’s a ballerina working in New York right now.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic! So are you guys based out of New York?”

They chat for a while longer until Ansel gets back to his DJ duties. Aimée stands at his side a moment later, panting slightly as she pulls her hair away from her sweaty neck. “Hey, you didn’t come back.”

“You looked like you were having fun,” he says as he hands her a cocktail.

She rolls her eyes and takes a big sip. “You know it’s always more fun when you’re around.”

“Actually, I was busy talking to one Mister Ansel Elgort.”

Aimée’s eyes shoot open. “Are you fucking serious? And I missed him?! God _damn it_!”

“Sorry, Ames,” he says slightly amused at the expression on her face. “Maybe we’ll cross paths again.”

She tosses back the rest of her drink and orders another. “Might wanna take it-” he starts then she gives him the stink eyes and he presses his lips together, trying not to laugh.

“I won’t forget this, Seb,” she swears.

“You were dancin’! What was I supposed to do, drag him out there to you?”

“Um, yes!”

Sebastian rolls his eyes. “I know you’re just being petulant because you’re disappointed.”

“M’not petulant,” she says with the hint of a smile.

“You having fun?” She nods. “Saw you talking to some people.”

She shrugs. “He was trying to but with the music so loud, it’s useless.”

“So no midnight date?”

“Nope.” She doesn’t look that upset about it and he’s relived that she can have a good time anyway. “You?”

“Nope.” He clinks his glass with hers and they smile at each other.

The evening goes on much the same, with more drinks and dancing. They hang out with the same group most of the night, chatting and laughing in one of the larger booths. They stick close together, leaning against one another the more drinks they have and the more time passes. Everyone heads to the dance floor when it’s a couple minutes to midnight. Everyone has a champagne flute and is ready when the countdown starts with a minute to go. “You disappointed you didn’t meet anyone for midnight?” he asks her.

“Nah,” she says, drawing out the word slightly in her tipsy haze. “You?”

“Nah,” he says mimicking her. She shoves him playfully and he laughs.

People start counting down aloud with 10 seconds to go, Seb and Aimée looking at each other and smiling as they count with everyone. 3, 2, 1…

“ _Happy New Year!_ ”

They smile at each other for a split second and both move forward, connecting halfway for a brief, chaste kiss. After a moment, they pull away and look at each other with warm smiles before starting to dance again. When he sees Ansel walking by, Sebastian makes it a point to wave him over and Aimée almost forgets how to speak. He slides an arm around her waist as he introduces her to Ansel and Violetta and they chat for a while. Sebastian leads most of the conversation comfortably, aware that his friend is too shy and inebriated to do it.

Early in the morning, they head outside to catch a cab back to Sebastian’s apartment. They sit quietly in the backseat, Aimée’s head resting on his shoulder and her arm linked with his. “Did you have fun?”

“The most fun,” she says with a content sigh. “How come you keep inviting me?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re never going to meet someone if I’m around cramping your style.” He tries to cut her off but she insists. “I’m not wrong. What does it look like to other women when a guy keeps another woman that close?”

“Whoever I end up with is going to accept my friends and the people in my life who are important to me. If a woman has a problem with my relationship with you, or any other of my friends, then she’s not the right one for me. Where’s this coming from?”

“I’m just drunk, don’t listen to me,” she says closing her heavy eyelids.

“Ames.”

“I would never want to get in your way, that’s all,” she mumbles.

“Don’t worry about stuff like that.”

“Okay…”

“Are you falling asleep?”

“…"

“Ames..? The Black Keys are overrated.”

“Shut your ignorant mouth and let me sleep, Seb.”


	7. Ottawa

**_Aimée_ ** _I hate you so much right now_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _What’s your problem?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I tried to go running  
_

_**Aimée** Now I’m stuck a mile and a half away from home and I’m dying  
_

**_Aimée_ ** _It’s a million degrees out here, Seb!_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _You’re stronger than you think. You can do this! I believe in you!_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Besides, what are you going to do, never go home?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I'm considering it  
_

**_Stan the Man_ ** _COME ON YOU WEAKLING GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS AND FINISH YOUR FUCKING RUN_

He sets his phone aside and keeps reading the script he’d been entrenched in before she interrupted. He looks back at it half an hour later and there’s no reply. He starts to wonder if he went too far with his tough love approach.

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Sorry if that was too harsh. Are you okay?_

He waits another 10 minutes.

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Ames? You okay?_

The guilt weighs heavy on him; maybe he shouldn’t have pushed so hard. After another 20 minutes, his phone lights up.

 **_Aimée_ ** _FUCK YOU STAN! I DID IT!_

 **_Aimée_ ** _You were fighting me every step of the way and you thought I was gonna fail but I made it back!_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Jesus, you scared me. I thought I hurt your feelings or something._

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _And WTF I’ve been pulling for you this whole time!_

 **_Aimée_ ** _That’s right haters, suck it! :-P_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Thanks for the encouragement, man ;-)_

 **_Aimée_ ** _I need a couple showers_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _Hey would you respect me less if I took a vampire part?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _… Yes  
_

**_Aimée_ ** _Wait, would you wear like, a long blonde wig, long nails, red contacts?_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _I don’t think so_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Still yes_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _What if Scorsese is directing?_

 **_Aimée_ ** _Is he??_

 **_Stan the Man_ ** _No_

 **_Aimée_ ** _LOL_

* * *

Aimée sighs, annoyed, as Skype beeps yet doesn’t connect for the third time. She cancels the request and sends another one when the kettle starts screaming in the kitchen. She leaves the laptop to go make tea. The music is on and _Arabella_ by the Arctic Monkeys fills the apartment. Aimée starts moving her hips to the beat, singing the words along with Alex Turner.

_My days end best when this sunset gets itself_  
_Behind that little lady sitting on the passenger side_  
_It's much less picturesque without her catching the light_  
_The horizon tries but it's just not as kind on the eyes_

She grabs a spoon and small plate to discard her teabag and dances her way back to the living room. She freezes when she sees Sebastian’s extremely delighted face on the laptop screen.

“Ah balls,” she says between tight lips.

“ _Damn girl_ ,” he says with the biggest grin. “You didn’t dance like that in TO!”

“How long have you been connected?”

“Oh long enough.”

She rolls her eyes as she settles on her favourite chair in the living room.  “I hate it when you have the upper hand.”

“I know you do, sweetheart,” he says in a patronizing voice. “On a related topic, the topic being my intense satisfaction at your embarrassment, I may or may not have mentioned to my pal Chris that you sing really well and he had a lot of follow up questions about which Disney tunes you know. The man loves his Disney and karaoke.”

“Karaoke?” Aimée says raising an eyebrow. “That’s an actual thing you guys do? I thought it was just a running joke.”

“Oh no, they take that shit seriously, especially Evans and Mackie. And speaking of Mackie, I was actually calling to tell you he and I are going to Ottawa Comicon in a few weeks.”

“Really!” Aimée says excitedly. “That’s awesome! Will you have time for us to get together?”

“I’ll make the time,” he says matter-of-factly.

“You know, unless you’re really looking forward to staying in another generic hotel, you could stay with me. I have a guest room so you’d have some privacy.”

“Yeah?” he asks, considering. "I might take you up on that.

"Cool, just let me know. How is everything else?”

“Things are good, busy. You?”

“Good, busy too. I’m deadlifting 185 now.”

“Fuck yeah! I knew you’d get to it faster than you thought. You don’t realize how strong you really are.”

“Yeah I know. I tried to go on another run but I only got as far as the nearest coffee shop.”

“So you walked home?”

“Yes… With a coffee and a danish.”

"Wow."

“Yep! Now tell me more about what you tell your eligible friends about me.”

* * *

Aimée is standing at the Arrivals section of the airport with a large banner in her hands. An influx of people starts coming into the area and she raises the banner high so the first thing Sebastian sees when he walks in is _WELCOME HOME FROM PORN ADDICTION REHAB!!!_ He groans, hiding his face with his hands as he walks towards his grinning friend. He puts his arms around her and grips her tightly to him. He looks at her with a mix of embarrassment and glee on his face as she pulls away to kiss his cheeks.

“Welcome to Ottawa, bro.”

“You’re such a shit,” he says still smiling.

He keeps his arm around her shoulders as they walk through the airport towards the parking and her car. He puts his suitcase and the banner in the trunk and settles in the passenger seat. _Indestructible_ by Disturbed blasts through the speakers when Aimée turns the key in the ignition and she looks at her friend with a grin. She puts on her sunglasses and does a little excited dance before driving off towards home.

* * *

“Ames, this is amazing.”

They’re having dinner in the living room as _Lisa Leblanc_ plays in the background as they devour dinner, comprised of cajun shrimp, chicken breasts, roasted asparagus and sweet potatoes. She grins happily as Sebastian clears his plate and sets it on the coffee table. “Fuck that was good.” He eyes the few pieces of seafood left on her plate. “You gonna..?”

“Go ahead,” she says and he wastes no time picking up her plate and finishing it off. He makes an appreciative sound and leans back with a hand on his stomach. “If I had known what I’ve been missing, I would have invited myself over ages ago.”

“You’d gain so much weight if we lived close to each other.”

“It’d be worth it to be able to let myself in and move your furniture or hide your stuff when you’re not here.”

“Pffft as if I’d give you a key.”

“You would 100% give me a key.” He pauses then shrugs. “Or I’d make myself a duplicate and you'd never know.”

“Fuck I’m glad you’re here!” Aimée says punching him playfully on the shoulder.

* * *

“There’s my sexy Seabass!”

Sebastian laughs at the nickname and pulls his costar into a warm embrace. Anthony sets his eyes on Aimée when they pull apart and smiles widely at her. “Chocolaccino, this is Aimée. Aimée, Anthony.”

Aimée offers her hand for him to shake. “ _Enchantée_.”

Anthony clicks his tongue and pulls her in for a hug. “Come on, any friend of Seabass is a friend of mine. You look beautiful, girl. Seb, why didn’t you tell me how beautiful your girl is!”

Aimée tries her hardest not to blush. “Damn right, I am!” She puts her hands on her hips, popping one out to the side.

“Sassy too!” Anthony says laughing. “I like that.”

It’s still early and the streets downtown aren’t crowded yet. Aimée takes them to a trendy restaurant/bar where the front is all open windows. The men are slightly tired from their day of interacting with fans and welcome the opportunity to relax and enjoy a drink. “Big day for you guys?”

“It just takes a lot of energy out of you,” Anthony says.

“But so worth it, of course,” Seb adds.

“Especially when you see their smiles go up to their eyes, like you’re making someone’s day.”

“That’s really nice, you guys,” Aimée says.

“Remind me again how you two met?” Anthony asks before taking a sip of his gin.

“I’m friends with Makeup Andy. I went with her to the premiere in LA.”

“And, as they say, the rest is history,” Sebastian says raising his glass and Aimée clinks it with hers.

“Ain’t it nice when kindred assholes find each other?” Aimée says and Seb laughs. “He’s been very good for me, mostly improving my wardrobe.”

“Yeah he’s a sharp-ass dresser, ain’t he?” Anthony says smirking at his friend.

“You’re not too bad yourself,” Aimée says motioning to his outfit with her chin and he winks at her.

She excuses herself to go to the washroom and orders them another round of drinks when she passes by the waitress on her way. “She’s great, I like her,” Anthony says when the two men are alone. “So what’s the deal?”

“With?”

“You and Aimée.”

“There’s no deal,” Sebastian assures him.

“Yeah, why ain’t there a deal?” he grills him.

“There’s just not.”

“Like you haven’t tried to get with that,” Anthony says skeptically. “You’re not attracted to her? She’s got a nice face, good curves.”

“I’m not _not_ attracted to her. It just didn’t happen that way. Besides, she lives here so how would that even work?”

“I dunno. I just figure, two single, good-looking people who get along as well as you do, things find a way.”

“People can be just friends.”

“Sure,” Anthony says nodding and shrugging.

“Don’t muddle things; our relationship is perfect as is.” He pauses. “Besides, she doesn’t look at me that way.”

“What way?”

“ _That_ way,” Sebastian says pointing towards the bar and Anthony turns to look; Aimée is leaning against the bar talking to a tall blonde man with very broad shoulders and huge arms. She’s smiling widely and her body language is open and relaxed. They seem to be having lively conversation and laugh every few seconds. At one point, she flexes her arm and he feels her bicep before reaching behind her to prod her back.

“Damn son,” Anthony says looking on.

“I’d say he’s in,” Sebastian says smiling softly. She does look beautiful in the form fitting dark blue dress he helped her pick out. He already figured it was only a matter of time before someone else noticed. After another minute, she says goodbye to the man to rejoin their table.

“Looks like you’re on fire tonight!” Anthony exclaims.

“What do you mean?” Aimée says picking up her drink and taking a couple sips.

“That blonde mountain of muscle at the bar. Hell, he could give Evans a run for his money.”

“ _Oh_ ,” Aimée says with wide eyes. “No, no, that’s my trainer! He’s on vacation so we haven’t seen each other in a while. He was just reminding me to focus on my lats this week.” Aimée glances back to the man at the bar. “And, sure, he’s real cute but he’s 6 years younger than me and I don’t think I’m his type.”

“What type are you, exactly?”

“Curvy.” The men give her a look and she rolls her eyes. “His girlfriend is a personal trainer like him and from the creeping I did on Facebook, I know she’s a dainty little thing.”

“Some guys like all kinds of women,” Anthony says. “Maybe he likes dainty, maybe curvy’s his thing too.”

“I know how men work, thanks; I’m a 30 year old single woman,” she says voice dripping with sass. “Anyway, what’s the saying, _don’t shit where you eat_? Same reason why you shouldn’t fuck your friends: things get weird.”

The men give each other a subtle glance, Sebastian hoping his insistence that Anthony drop it is clear enough. It is not. “Things could get weird but it could also evolve into something else and become an even better thing.”

“Pfft, how often does that actually happen?”

“If only we could poll the room,” Sebastian says drily. “But we can’t so how about you tell us how your kids are doing, Mack?”

“Show us some pics!” Aimée demands.

“How nice of you to suddenly think of my children and completely change the topic,” Anthony says keeping eye contact with his friend as he pulls his phone out of his pocket.

* * *

“ _Holy shit_ this place is packed!”

Anthony’s eyes are as wide as can be as he takes in the hot mess that is _The Lookout_ , the city’s most popular gay bar. Aimée is glad she warned the men to dress light as the amount of people piled into the small venue gets the temperature rising within minutes of opening every night.

“Drag night is extremely popular,” Aimée shouts at him over the music. “The queens are always fabulous and they get the crowd going from 0 to 100 in seconds.” She reaches out and grabs Sebastian’s hand, who grips hers tightly and follows her. He looks to Anthony who looks back unimpressed.

“I ain’t taking your hand,” he says resolutely as he follows.

They eventually make it to the bar and Aimée orders them shots and cocktails. “What do we toast to?” Aimée asks holding up a shot.

“Crazy Canucks,” Anthony says and Aimée nods in agreement. They all down one shot and reach for the next. “To beautiful Canucks,” Anthony says pointing to Aimée with his glass.

“Aww,” Aimée says before pretending to gag at the compliment. After they down the shots, they take their drinks to the balcony while they wait for the show to start. They look down at the crowded streets below them full of people looking for a good time. Aimée leans on the balcony, feeling a tad unsteady on her feet. Sebastian puts a hand on her shoulder to keep her grounded.

“You good?”

“I’m very good,” she says smiling, though her eyelids feel a bit heavier than before.

“ _Oh my God, it’s Bucky and Falcon!_ ”

The trio looks down to the sidewalk and see that some fans walking by apparently recognized them. “ _I told you Bucky was gay!_ ” one girl tells her friend.

“ _He’s only gay for Steve!_ ”

Aimée and Anthony laugh while Sebastian smiles awkwardly.  Aimée turns to face Sebastian and looks at him sympathetically. “We will love and support you no matter how you live your life.”

“I’ll show you love and support,” he answers before pretending to throw her over the railing. They hear the MC start talking in the club and head inside.  The music is loud and the energy is electric when the queens start singing and dancing. Liquid courage makes Aimée's legs and hips move and soon enough, she’s dancing like no one is watching. Anthony eggs her on, joining her as sweat trickles down their faces. Aimée’s hair sticks to her skin so she pulls it back into a ponytail and keeps dancing and singing along to the music. She feels Sebastian's hands on her hips as he dances. Everyone is touching everyone but she recognizes the feel of his grip.

Somehow, Anthony ends up dancing with the beautiful dark-skinned queen gracing the stage. The crowd loves him and shouts for him to take his clothes off. Sebastian and Aimée can’t stop laughing at how comfortable and excited Mackie is. He lifts his shirt to expose his toned stomach to everyone’s delight. It’s delirium when he takes off his shirt and throws it in his friends’ direction.

A while later, Aimée makes her way over to the bar for one last round of drinks. A cute, tall redhead she’s noticed at the club before is leaning over the bar, trying to get the barman to look at her. “Hey,” Aimée says smiling.

“Hey,” the redhead smiles back.

“Kind of hard to get any attention when everything is this loud, eh?”

“I don’t know, you sure got mine,” the redhead says. Aimée’s smile widens as the woman holds out her hand. “I’m Heather.”

Sebastian has been keeping his eyes on Mackie, making sure he doesn’t get any dumb ideas like crowd surfing. He’s having a good time, though probably not as much as his friend. He likes dancing with Aimée, especially when she’s not stressing about how she looks. They move well together, even when it’s hard to move at all. Or breathe. Or think. He wishes they could go back out to the balcony to escape the heat for a bit. Anthony is still busy having the time of his life. He scans the crowd to find Aimée, his eyes setting on her kissing a tall redhead at the bar. The stranger has her hands on her ass and is pressing Aimée’s pelvis to hers. Without realizing it, he’s moving towards them. The stranger has to pull away when he slinks an arm around Aimée’s waist.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on her,” he tells the unknown woman, who looks from him to Aimée. But Aimée’s too inebriated to focus, lost in the ecstasy of human contact and cheap drinks. "We're heading out."

“I don’t think she’s done with me yet,” the woman tells him defiantly.

“Hey Ames,” Sebastian says putting his mouth close to her ear. “Wanna go for a beavertail?”

“Oh my God, yes! Let’s go!” Aimée shouts, throwing her arms around him. He looks at the redhead with all the satisfaction in the world on his face. The redhead gives him a pointed look with a raised eyebrow. She turns around without another word and walks away.

“Ames!” he says to get her attention.

“What?”  
  
“How drunk _are_ you? You’re not even gay!”

“Sure I am!”

“What?!”

“I'm Pan, Stan!” she says, giggling at the rhyme. He stares at her in disbelief. “Pffft, like you tell me about everyone you fuck!” She’s still smiling so he’s not sure if she knows what she’s saying. “Hey we should get some beavertails!”

* * *

“ _Oh my God_.”

Aimée nods at her friends knowingly. “Is this not the best damn thing you’ve ever had?”

“This is amazing,” Anthony declares before taking another enormous bite of his Nutella-drenched fried dough.

Sebastian can’t stop making appreciative sounds as he chews, getting cinnamon and sugar from his pastry all over his hands. “We are _so_ going running tomorrow.”

“We can barely walk right now,” Aimée says, slurring slightly. She pulls a piece off both their beavertails and stuffs them in her mouth.

“Pfft speak for yourself,” Sebastian says before promptly tripping over his own feet.

* * *

Sebastian doesn’t know where he is for a split second. His eyelids feel rusty when he opens them and his throat scratchy as hell. He looks to the nightstand and finds a large glass of water with advil. _Thank f*ck_. He takes the pills and downs the water before walking to the washroom for a shower. It does him a world of good and by the time he steps out of the guest room, clean and dressed, his headache has mercifully dulled. He walks into the kitchen to find Aimée sitting at the table, finishing a piece of toast and reading the news on her phone. She looks up and smiles at him.

“Good morning,” she says getting to her feet for coffee duty. She brings him a cup of coffee and he shudders under his breath as he takes the first hot sip. He mutters something about a tasty godsend as she fills a plate with eggs, turkey sausage and homefries. She sets the plate in front of him and a bowl of pineapple and mangoes in the middle of the table. “Geez Ames, this is great. You didn’t have to go through so much trouble.”

His friend shrugs into her own cup of coffee. “Wouldn’t want my ranking to go down on Trip Advisor.”

“Well there was no mint on my pillow so…” he says digging into his food. “These potatoes are so good. I should pack some in my suitcase.”

Aimée snorts. “We’ll see how well you like them after you get potato grease all over your expensive clothes.”

“Speaking of clothes, wanna do our thing after breakfast? I don’t have to be at the convention center for a couple hours.”

“Sounds good. I’m actually looking forward to it.”

Sebastian furrows his brow and puts the back of his hand to her forehead. “Are you coming down with something? I could swear I just heard you say you’re looking forward to _shopping_.”

“Ugh,” she rolls her eyes. “You’re the worst.”

“Yeah,” he says smiling warmly at her and shoveling more potatoes in his mouth. “You know, you could come to the con. I’ll be signing pictures and talking to fans. They’re really nice people. You could sit in on the panel.”

“Will Anthony be there too?”

“Oh, I see how it is,” he says feigning a hurt face. “Not so keen until you find out Chocolacchino will be there.”

“Aren’t you used to that by now? He’s clearly the superior friend. And Avenger.”

“Now you’re just trying to push my buttons.”

* * *

“Sorry about that,” Sebastian says. “Again _._ ”’

“It’s really no problem,” Aimée shrugs it off, not even mildly annoyed that their shopping trip has been interrupted three times so far by fans looking to take pictures. She can’t be mad; it must be amazing to be able to meet one of your heroes and who wouldn’t jump at the chance. “Just, you know, waiting for someone to ask for _my_ goddamn autograph. Don’t these people know who I am?”

“Fools,” Sebastian agrees. “All of them.”

“I like that jacket,” she says pointing to a mannequin in the display window of Simons. They go in to try it on. It fits nicely on Aimée but she insists on him trying it on too. She takes a picture of him with the coat on, and fuck if he doesn’t look damn good in it. She puts it back on and tries to mimic his expression when he takes a picture of her. He posts both to Instagram with the caption _#WhoWoreItBetter?_

“Looking fly,” Sebastian comments as his friend walks out of the store wearing the garment.

“Damn right I do,” she says putting on her sunglasses. Sebastian starts humming _Sunglasses at Night_ and Aimée punches his arm. “Ah fuck,” Aimée mutters as she abruptly stops and turns around.

“What’s happening..?”

“My ex manages that IT store,” she says pointing vaguely in the direction they were walking. “I’m totally over it and I’m totally fine seeing him.”

“You _seem_ totally fine,” Sebastian says with raised eyebrows.

“I just forgot he owns a store here and it wasn’t the best breakup and it just makes me feel anxious and inadequate when I think about- _what_ _are you doing?_ ”

Sebastian has an arm around her waist and gives her a dreamy smile. “Nothing, sweetheart. Let’s keep going down this way; maybe we can find a nice pair of shoes to go with your new jacket.”

Aimée’s about to ask if he’s having a stroke when she catches on “You don’t have to do this,” she says softly as they move forward.

“You wanna show up this motherfucker or not?” Aimée hesitates yet they get closer and closer. Soon they’ll be near enough for the jerk to notice her. She makes up her mind and smirks at Sebastian as she slips a hand into his back pocket. “Atta girl.”

They casually stroll in front of the store and sure enough, the man in question looks up and his eyes grow wide. They walk close enough that they hear employees of the store talk.

_“Is that the guy from Captain America?”_

_“Oh my God, it’s Carter from_ Gossip Girl _. I gotta text Jessie! She is gonna_ freak _!”_

 _"_ _Who does he have his arm around? Is she pretty?”_ A gasp. “ _Oh my God, is she famous?”_

_“Shit Marc, is that Aimée?!”_

Aimée tries hard not to laugh; people are so predictable. She looks at Sebastian, who’s wearing the most satisfied smile she’s ever seen on a human face. “Thank you,” she says sincerely before giving him a peck on the cheek.

“Anything for you, Ames.”

* * *

“Thanks for coming, it was really nice to meet you,” Sebastian says to the fan as she leaves his booth with an autograph and a huge smile on her face. Aimée thought she would get over seeing their faces light up but she’s really not. She feels a sense of pride with every interaction, every time he puts his arm around a young fan or every time he tries to soothe their tears with soft, kind words. Every so often he turns to her to make sure she’s not bored but she just smiles, putting gifts they bring him into a bag for transport later. She’s always known that he’s a nice guy but seeing him being so sweet and patient makes her heart swell.

She doesn’t say much as they walk around the convention center. She follows him with a soft smile and he notices how quiet she is. He bumps her shoulder with his. “Where you at?”

“Right here,” she says winking at him. “It’s just really nice to see you talking to them and being super nice to them.”

“Well I _am_ a super nice guy,” he says smirking.

“I know,” she nods. “I just really appreciate the patience and the sensitivity you have when you talk to people.”

“Jesus Ames,” he says blushing slightly.

“Okay okay, I’m done gushing,” she promises.

They walk around backstage for a bit and meet up with Anthony a few minutes before the panel starts. “Ah, here comes trouble,” Anthony says with a big grin when he sees them approach. He gives Aimée a hug and gives Sebastian an affectionate slap on the back. “You gonna come up and answer some questions with us?” he asks Aimée.

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Aimée says with a smile. “I’m sure these fangirls would love all the things I could tell them about Seb.”

“Pfft you ain’t got shit on me,” Sebastian says confidently.

“That’s what you think, mister I-cried-watching-Lord-of-the-Rings?”

“You cried too!” he said indignantly.

“Yeah but I always cry when I watch movies. Especially The Covenant, because it was the cringiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay, we’re done here,” Sebastian says pretending to walk away.

“Nooo, come back, I love youuu,” Aimée says dramatically.

“Nah, let him go,” Anthony deadpans. “You and me can do this panel without him.”

“I think you’d have a riot on your hands; I’m cute but I’m not Winter Soldier cute.”

A handler comes over when the event is about to start and Sebastian asks him to help Aimée get comfortable. He and Anthony grab some water bottles and stand by for their cue. Aimée sits on the sideline while the guys burst onto the stage to massive applause. They settle into their seats as the moderator greets them.

“Hey, how are you? How's your weekend been so far? Have you guys had the chance to get around Ottawa and visit?”

“Yeah it’s been great,” Sebastian starts. “My good friend lives here so she took Mackie and I out on the town last night. It was a really good time. Chocolaccino is now an honorary drag queen,” he says smirking.

“What do you mean _now_?” Anthony says seriously, making everyone laugh. “How do you know I’m not doing this _every_ Saturday night?”

Seb turns to look at Amy and they nod at each other and shrug. “I’m ready to believe that 100%,” he says into the mic. “I also got some shopping in; you guys have great designer stores. I wanted to check out a few museums too, but I don’t have enough time.”

“ _Move to Ottawa!_ ” a fan shouts and Sebastian smiles.  

“Aimée and I would end up killing each other for sure,” he says to Anthony away from the microphone.

“Killing, kissing, whatever,” Anthony says smirking.

“I’ll definitely come back,” Sebastian says into the mic, ignoring the comment. “It’s a beautiful city.”

“Before we move on, I just wanna put this up, make sure everyone sees what you were up to earlier,” the moderator says pressing on the buttons of a remote. The image on the large screen behind them shows Sebastian’s Instagram feed, specifically the picture of him wearing a woman’s bright yellow jacket. “So this clearly proves that you can rock any look, ever.”

Sebastian laughs, his eyes crinkling. “I knew I wore it better.”

“ _Bullshit!_ ” Aimée calls out from backstage and the crowd laughs.

“What can I say?” he shrugs, looking back at the crowd. “Some people got it, some people don’t.”

They move on to other topics like the Marvel universe and other actors before taking questions from fans. Every so often, Sebastian will slightly turn and wink at Aimée or give her a look when they get an especially peculiar question. One fan with a thick, French accent has the actors struggling to discern her question and the look on Anthony and Sebastian’s faces is priceless. Aimée snaps a picture and posts it to Instagram with the caption _Bucky and Sam need to brush up on their French #WhatAreTheyTeachingInWinterSoldierSchool? #BrokenAmericanSchoolSystem #JacquesDernierWouldBeAshamed_

As the panel wraps up, the actors wave to the crowd and take some pictures before heading backstage. Sebastian puts an arm around Aimée’s shoulder as they walk further into the convention center, not saying much and Aimée figures he must be a bit drained.

“So, karaoke later?” Anthony says from behind them. “I bet Aimée knows all the good spots.”

“I do know _some_ ,” she confirms. “But maybe tonight’s not the night?” Sebastian’s not listening, too busy looking at his phone. “Or maybe tonight _is_ the night. The night to get crazy and go streaking downtown.”

“Yeah,” Anthony says catching on. “Buck naked, stealing a RCMP police horse.”

“Singing _Fireworks_ by Katy Perry at the top of our lungs.”

“And riding that horse all the way up Parliament hill to go high-five the Prime Minister!”

Sebastian looks up suddenly, realizing he missed something. “What are you talking about?” he asks feeling lost. “Something about a horse?”

“Yep,” Aimée and Anthony say at the same time. They make plans to reconvene downtown in the evening. They say goodbye before heading to her car and driving home. Once inside, he lets himself fall back on the couch with a sigh, declaring he is taking a nap right then and there.

When he wakes up, the room is dark and he’s alone. The television is on and Guy Fieri is stuffing an oversized sandwich into his mouth. The sound of the TV is low and he listens closely when he hears music. He rises from the couch and walks down the hall towards the kitchen. Aimée has her back to him as she cuts up tomatoes and fresh herbs. Her hair is pulled back into a french braid, exposing her bare shoulders and back as her mouth moves to sing.

_If I didn't know better, I'd hang my hat right there_  
_If I didn't know better, I'd follow you up the stairs_  
_Stop saying those sweet things you know I like to hear_  
_The horns are blowing louder and they're destroying me_  
_Why do I keep drinking_  
_Wasting my time on you_  
_If I didn't know better_  
_Well, damn it_  
_I do_

Aimée smiles at him when she notices him walking in and offers him a glass of wine. “To your first trip to Ottawa,” she toasts. “I hope it was worth your time and thanks for accepting to stay in my humble abode instead of a more convenient, fancier hotel with a bunch of amenities.”

“I like your amenities,” he says smiling back. “Thanks for having me and showing me a good time.” They drink up, Sebastian drinking an extra-large gulp. “Something smells really good.”

“Hell yeah, we’re having steak on the BBQ.”

“Way better than some hotel,” Sebastian says taking his seat. She urges him to serve the salad while she puts together their plates of steak, mushrooms, baked potato and asparagus. “Fuck, this is so good,” he says once he digs in and stuffs a big piece of beef in his mouth. “Ames,” he says looking deeply into her eyes, “marry me.”

She hums as she puts sour cream on her potato. “If I married every guy who had an orgasm eating my food, I’d be one Richard Burton away from being Liz Taylor.”

* * *

“ _Whyyy_ always Bon Jovi?” Mackie whines when Sebastian steps off the stage.

“Issa classic!” Sebastian insists, slurring slightly.

“So overdone.” Anthony looks at Aimée downing the last of her drink. “You up?”

“Oh I’m up alright,” she says getting up to march to the stage.

“What did she pick?” Anthony asks.

“No idea,” Sebastian shrugged. “Hopefully not Celine Dion.”

“Ugh, _Canadians_.”

“Right?”

They clink their glasses as the music starts. Aimée looks completely at ease, most likely because of the three drinks she’s had in the past hour. As _Tighten Up_ by the Black Keys starts, Aimée looks at Anthony as she starts singing, much to his delight and Sebastian’s amusement.

_I wanted love, I needed love_  
_Most of all, most of all_  
_Someone said true love was dead_  
_And I'm bound to fall, bound to fall for you_  
_Oh what can I do?_

_Take my badge but my heart remains_  
_Lovin' you, baby childf I didn't know better_  
_Tighten up on your reins_  
_You're runnin' wild, runnin' wild, it's true_  
_Sick for days in so many ways_  
_I'm achin' now, I'm achin' now_  
_It's times like these I need relief_  
_Please show me how, oh show me how to get it right_  
_Yeah out of sight_

_When I was young and movin' fast_  
_Nothin' slowed me down, oh slowed me down_  
_Now I let the others pass, I've come around_  
_Oh come around, 'cause I've found_

_Livin' just to keep goin'_  
_Goin' just to be sane_  
_All the while not knowin'_  
_It's such a shame_  
_I don't need to get steady_  
_I know just how I feel_  
_I'm tellin' you to be ready_  
_My dear_

Everyone in the bar cheers as Aimée does a quick, unsteady bow and hurries back to her seat.

“I knew you had good pipes but I had no idea you had such a stage presence,” Sebastian teases.

“Yeah, I clearly missed my calling as a rock star,” she pants. “Think of all the sexy groupie diseases I avoided!”

“You’re more like your mom than I thought,” Sebastian says and they giggle drunkenly.

“You have to do something different,” Aimée says perusing the song list. “I can’t take another Bon Jovi track, Seb, I just can’t.” She gasps. “Oh my God, if you do this one, I will love you forever.”

“You already love me forever,” he points out as he leans in to read the title she’s pointing to. “Ugh, Ames, no.”

“Seb yes!”

“I’m not drunk enough for George Michael.”

“So you’re saying I just need to ply you with more alcohol?” Aimée says, hopeful.

“I’m saying… if I do an embarrassing one, you have to do one too.”

“Deal!” Aimée looks way too excited and Sebastian shakes his head, all too aware he would have ended up doing what she asked no matter what.

* * *

“This one goes out… to that special lady… _right_ there.” Sebastian points to Aimée, looking at her with glassy eyes and a very lax posture.

“Yeah sexy seabass!” Anthony encourages him as Aimée woos loudly.

_There's things that you guess_  
_And things that you know_  
_There's boys you can trust_  
_And girls that you don't_  
_There's little things you hide_  
_And little things that you show_  
_Sometimes you think you're gonna get it_  
_But you don't and that's just the way it goes_

_I swear I won't tease you_  
_Won't tell you no lies_  
_I don't need no bible_  
_Just look in my eyes_  
_I've waited so long baby_  
_Now that we're friends_  
_Every man's got his patience_  
_And here's where mine ends_

_I want your sex_  
_I want your love_  
_I want your sex_  
_I want your, sex_

_It's dancing on my souls_  
_It's taken so much time_  
_So why don't you just let me go_  
_I'd really like to try_  
_Oh I'd really love to know_  
_When you tell me you're gonna regret it_  
_Then I tell you that I love you but you still say no!  
_

Aimée and Anthony have way too much fun cheering their friend and his ridiculous, over-the-top performance. Sebastian looks at Anthony intensely every so often as he sings and Anthony stares right back, his disposition overtly sexually aggressive and Aimée can’t get enough. “This counts as your birthday and Christmas present,” he says into the mic before taking his seat.

“That was fucking awesome,” Aimée says with the biggest smile.

“I expect the same level of energy for the song I picked for you,” he says taking a few sips of his drink.

In fact, when Aimée gets up to sing _Jolene_ , she brings the story to life with such emphatic hand gestures and emotion on her face that she barely gets through it without breaking. 

* * *

Aimée feels light and heavy at the same time. She’s warm and content in these arms and could probably fall asleep on her feet. Sebastian looks at her with a soft, hazy smile on his face from where he’s sitting on her couch, feet up on the coffee table he pulled closer so the others could dance. She doesn’t know the name of the Al Green song Anthony put on but her body seems familiar with it. He holds her hand and waist tightly, humming along to the song as they move slowly.

“Is this how you got your wife to fall for you?” she mutters.

“No,” Anthony says softly. “That was my big dick.” Classic Mackie. The song changes to _These Days_ by the Black Keys and Aimée closes her eyes, smiling to herself. A moment later, she feels Anthony’s hands and hard body slip away to be replaced by Sebastian’s. He holds her firmly against him as she rests her head on his shoulder.

_My hand to God I didn't mean to_  
_After all, look what we've been through_  
_Men come in different shades_  
_That's how we're made_

_The little house on Ellis Drive_  
_Is where I felt most alive_  
_The oak tree covered that old Ford_  
_I miss it Lord, I miss it Lord_

Mackie looks at them through half-closed eyes. They’re dead on their feet but still they sway. He takes a picture and posts it with the caption _#CrazyKids_ _#KaraokeIsANationalSportInCanada #AndWeWonGold #TooMuchBlackKeysForOneDay_

_These blood red eyes_  
_Don't see so good_  
_But what's worse is if they could?_  
_Would I change my ways?_  
_Wasted times and broken dreams_  
_Violent colours so obscene_  
_It's all I see these days_  
_These days_

_Watch what you say, the devil is listenin'_  
_He's got ears that you wouldn't believe_  
_And brother once you go to him_  
_It's your soul you can never, never, never retrieve_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Celine Dion is religion in my mom's house.


End file.
